Every Arsenal player's salary and where Mikel Arteta can make transfer deadline day cuts

Mikel Arteta can trim his squad down before the transfer deadline, with one potential exit earning eye-watering wages

Arsenal can save a combined £25million-a-year by cutting three players from their squad on transfer deadline day. The summer window slams shut tomorrow (Tuesday, September 1) at 11pm.

The Gunners’ signings in the last few months have been impressive, having brought in Piero Hincapie on a permanent basis, Illan Meslier as a free agent, Christos Tzolis, Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa.

Things have been more underwhelming on the departures front, with Leandro Trossard’s exit fetching just £15.3m, while Karl Hein and Christian Norgaard’s moves brought in £2.5m and £7m, respectively. And, having terminated Reiss Nelson’s contract by mutual agreement last week, there are still several exits sporting director Andrea Berta will want to get over the line.

Gabriel Martinelli is one player expected to head out of the door after a reported £50m bid from Al-Hilal was accepted by the club. The Brazilian winger was left out of Arsenal’s matchday squad for the first two games of the new campaign, providing a huge hint that he was not part of Mikel Arteta’s plans this season.

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While the Gunners would have hoped for a bigger fee for a Premier League-winning winger, Martinelli is still set to become the club’s record sale, suggesting the north Londoners are learning to offload players at the right time. The deal will also provide Arsenal with the added boost of removing Martinelli’s £9.36m salary from the wage bill.

But there are two players Berta must look to move on by Tuesday night. The Fabio Vieira saga has rumbled on for long enough, and there is no reason why the Portuguese midfielder should still be an Arsenal player in 2026.

He is very unlikely to feature at all this term and the player himself is keen to join Hamburg, where he spent last season on loan. So far, Berta has been unsuccessful in convincing Hamburg to meet the 26-year-old’s price tag.

If the Bundesliga side are refusing to budge, the Gunners should take what they are offered for Vieira - if not for his transfer fee, then at least to remove his £2.34m-per-year salary from the wage bill.

Yet, Vieira’s wages pale in comparison to Gabriel Jesus' - another player the north Londoners can’t seem to get rid of. The Brazilian has relentlessly been hampered by injuries throughout his time in N5 and is now a shadow of his former self on the pitch, meaning he will barely receive any minutes this season if Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres stay fit.

Still only 29, Jesus should be playing regular football elsewhere, and the likes of Napoli have reportedly expressed an interest in signing him this summer. The biggest issue is Jesus’ eye-watering £13.78m annual salary, which makes him the third highest earner at the club, behind Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz.

Clubs are unwilling to pay him such lucrative wages and the forward is unwilling to take a huge pay-cut, leaving Arsenal in a predicament whereby they can’t offload him for a reasonable fee, nor can they terminate his contract as they would then have to pay him the remainder of his wages.

The best option, therefore, is to accept a lower transfer fee in an effort to ease a prospective buyer’s financial constraints, so that they can still afford to hand Jesus his preferred wages. One thing is clear, however. The Gunners cutting their losses will save them considerable money on their wage bill in the long run, allowing another high calibre player to come in.

Here is the full list of Arsenal’s estimated payroll for the 2026/27 season, according to Spotrac: